Simon Waldram (check out his back catalogue here)

Late last year when I went to see Sleaford Mods at Rock City I tweeted about how nice it is to see that it is a curfew gig so you can get home at a reasonable hour. Once upon a time I would have wanted to stay out partying all night and getting home in the morning to sleep all day, although I somehow had the strength to get up for work the next morning to do a full day before doing it all again. When does that go? I realise that we deteriorate with age but at what point did getting home and sitting down with a cup of tea become as exciting as (if not more exciting) the night out itself? Even better than a gig that kicks you out in favour of a discotheque for the youngsters is a gig that you can enjoy and get home for teatime. 

Bodega has hosted these Saturday afternoon acoustic sets for a while but yesterday was my first one. Simon Waldram was on first, who had drawn my attention to this show in the first place as I haven't seen him for a long time. He is always great company to be in and I hope to see more of him socially in the future, we are actually approaching the anniversary of our first meeting when he appeared on my radio show, the same applies to Lisa (deVille) Shepherd and Cibele who were also in attendance. It's scary to realise that I probably haven't seen Lisa in the two years since we filmed an episode of The Random Saturday Sessions. 

Simon was followed by Holly Fallon who it was nice to see again as she was in the final of Notts Factor the last time I was allowed to judge (I'm not what you'd call a safe pair of hands, much better to replace me with someone who wouldn't say boo to a goose). She is on my wish-list for The Random Sessions and as I think she has a big future ahead of her it would be cool to have her film an episode before she gets too big. Simon then joined Emzae on stage during her set, someone I've heard a lot about due to her work with Simon but have not seen live before until now, she has a lovely voice and it would be nice to film with her at some point too. There was also someone I only met for the first time yesterday, a French singer known as Deylise who I exchanged contact with to hopefully film her in the future which all in all makes for a productive day.

Best of all was the fact that this all took place during the day. All gigs should happen during the day as far as I am now concerned. I saw a great line up of acts, had a few drinks (daytime drinking has a slightly better effect than nighttime drinking) and was home and in my pyjamas and eating a pizza by seven o'clock. Let the louts have the night to drink as much as possible, piss in doorways and fight over a woman, I'm at home. 

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Beth Frisby (link)

Last night was one of the rare occasions that Mandi came with me to a gig as thanks to my introduction (at the 2013 Nottingham Rocks concert) she is a big fan of Georgie Rose. Although Mandi is a music lover she doesn't particularly enjoy crowded music venues, less than dazzlingly clean toilets, or standing for large periods of time after a day at work. Friday nights are very dear to her, as she likes to say farewell to the working week via a bubble bath and the sofa so this is a huge compliment to Georgie's talent. Gary came along too to Bodega where Georgie was headlining her biggest show to date. As it was an early doors affair there was a bit of a rush to get ready after a day in court but we got back into town just in time to find out that the doors opened at seven o'clock rather than half past six as it stated on the Facebook event page. Having said that, it might have put Mandi under some pressure to get ready she was at least ready. Maybe in future I should deduct half an hour from all start times to ensure we get there in time. We were planning on having a drink downstairs first but the first support act was due on at quarter past, presumably they were using the venue for a discotheque straight after. Although I have seen Beth Frisby before I don't think I've previously seen her with a band so this was an unexpected treat for me as she was a last minute replacement for a poorly Molly or Jack so Molly and Jack had to pull out. Given that next on the bill was Ryan Thomas with his band, we might soon not have any solo musicians left.

Ryan Thomas (link)

I have written recently about Ryan's capability as a band leader and last night he didn't make me a liar for what I had written. Georgie was stronger than ever and the practise she told me they had been having a lot of certainly paid off. I am not the only person to give the opinion that she stands a bloody good chance of being the next breakout artist from this city. To do this she needs to see that she is starting to outgrow Nottingham now and get out and about. Although not overly populated by representatives of the Nottingham music scene, this was obviously a high profile enough gig to temp Notts TV's Mark 'literally' Del out of the house to be seen supporting local music. It was a little hurtful that Georgie name-checked Del from the stage, but in fairness she hadn't seen me beforehand and presumably didn't see me. Also it is fair to say that he is a bit more noticeable than I am, not just for his general appearance but for the shock factor of seeing him at a gig. I don't go out of my way to be noticed and just go to enjoy the music, such vulgar displays aren't for me and I am happy for the attention seekers to get what they want, attention.

Georgie Rose (link)

The show was a resounding success and you could see how much it meant to Georgie to be on the stage, and as I have said before the transformation from the shy girl I first saw perform to the rock chick on stage is phenomenal. Next time she headlines her own gig in Nottingham it could realistically be Rock City. I'm sure Mark 'literally' Del will be there for that one.

Interestingly, Gary said something (I think it was Gary who said it) about Jake Bugg last night; there's a name you don't often hear nowadays, which I think speaks volumes as you can only go so far on minimal ability.

Mandi had had enough by the end and took the tram home, (they made her bring it back - thank you very much I'm here all week) after the Bodega was finished. In the mood for more live music (there's no such thing as too much), Gary and I went to Jam Cafe just in time to catch The Damn Heavy play a blinding set that perfectly rounded off a night of bluesy rock (or rocky blues depending on your point of view). It was a great night for Nottingham music, literally.

This week's edition of The Sunday Alternative can be heard here.

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April housekeeping

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@SteveOliver76 

I had a very pleasant evening  yesterday immersing myself in the world of local music. Straight from my daytime life in Crown Court I dashed up to the Broadway Cinema bar to interview Georgie Rose about her upcoming headlining gig at Bodega. This will be her biggest Nottingham show to date and she certainly deserves it so I was pleased that my pitch to interview her was taken up by the Nottingham Post. I've even blown out a review gig in her favour. She was held up due to traffic so I sat outside with a beer and used their Wi-Fi while I waited, I'm not sure how much Wi-Fi costs per minute so I don't know if I have used enough to compensate for the theft of my idea.

Georgie brought along a couple of members of her band which threw me a little as I had prepared questions aimed at Georgie herself (yes, I prepared in advance) although this wasn't really a problem. We had a nice little chat upstairs in quieter surroundings using my phone for the first time as a recorder, luckily I managed okay in the face of modern technology.

I've known Georgie for a couple of years and have to say I am impressed with her climb to where she is. She has worked hard and focussed on her career while managing to not turn into a horrible person, something that can happen to musicians in this city. I could tell that she is excited and nervous about her big show but I'm sure she will handle it with ease. Given that she is only twenty years old it is weird to think that she is now one of the top people (at least as far as I am concerned) among Nottingham's musicians. Not turning into a horrible person will work in her favour because a fair amount of female artists (not exclusively female artists but more of them than male artists, just an observation) develop a sense of their own importance and turn into the most arrogant pieces of work imaginable, yet Georgie has remained as grounded and welcoming as she was when we first worked together. 

Although I had cosily ensconced myself in front of the telly to watch the hour long episode of Eastenders, I tore myself away to go to a gig, not leaving the house until quarter past nine. I had wanted to watch Opie Deino performing at Jam Cafe because I had never actually seen her playing indoors. As a busker I have seen her around the city centre on a number of occasions but this was something I couldn't miss. We don't know each other but have 'spoken' online before and I have arranged to record a short interview with her for a project I am doing about buskers (I won't elaborate in case Leftlion jump in and steal it) and seemed very friendly last night. As for the gig she blew me away with a band giving her a much fuller rockier sound which went down really well with the Jam Cafe crowd. This won't be the last time I watch her playing I am sure, and although I turned up late I should mention Emily Martin who was on as I arrived and sounded as great as ever.

Listen to this week's edition of The Sunday Alternative here.

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March housekeeping 

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It isn’t very often that Mandi comes with me to local gigs, not so much because of the music but because she doesn’t like the fact that I have a tendency to get too involved with everyone there and end up ignoring her. Tonight was different though, as we are both massive fans of Josh Kemp and she wanted to go and see him, even though it is a ‘school night’ and Mandi gets up rather early for work. The gig was Under The Tree, a regular acoustic night that takes place at Bodega, and Josh was headlining.

We arrived a little bit late and missed a couple of acts, Jamie Moon was just starting as we arrived, someone I have played a few times but can’t recall seeing him live before although I must have done. I said a few hellos when we walked through the doors, but I took Mandi and sat with her at a good vantage point near the stage.

As a live music venue, Bodega can be a little bit strange. The upstairs is a dedicated venue that is equipped to deal with bands, and as such (and the fact that you have to pay to get upstairs) it attracts people who actually want to see live music. Downstairs is a public bar space and as a result plays host to those lowest of the low people, the talkers. Bodega seems to attract a large cross section of people; the people who sat at the table next to ours certainly didn’t look like they were there to witness some live music, something they proved by talking all the fucking way through. Thankfully they soon left, presumably for somewhere else more suited to their needs.

The low hum of chatter hangs over the tables, replacing the cigarette smoke that used to gather there.

It is very unusual for a Nottingham musician to escape my attention, but tonight I saw for the first time a singer whose name I had never even seen anywhere before tonight. Yasmin Issaka took to the stage armed with just a guitar and rolled through a seductive set of soul tinged wonderment which I managed to focus on, zoning myself out of the million conversations that were taking place around us. Determined to find out more, as soon as I was home I typed her name into Google and found myself at her Reverbnation profile, where I proceeded to download a couple of her tracks, one of which will definitely find itself being played on my American radio show this weekend.

It’s always nice to see Josh Kemp performing, with his upbeat compositions and loveable lad stage presence, he has never to my knowledge put on a below par show. Although this set was shorter than usual, he turned the crowd round to his side immediately. I would have liked to have seen his cover of ‘Sweet Child of Mine’ of course, but he delivered the goods nevertheless and ended on the always popular ‘Hangover Song’. It was over far too quickly, and we were home before we knew it.

The Nottingham music scene can be annoying, self-indulgent, and a little bit up its arse. On the other hand it can fill you with pride. I have my playlist to organise for this weekend’s American show, doing it after a gig always makes my head burst with possibility.

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